James M. Talent: “last year's welfare reform bill was about, in part, getting welfare recipients into work. One of the most effective ways…”

“last year's welfare reform bill was about, in part, getting welfare recipients into work. One of the most effective ways to do that is through community service and community work experience programs which we generally know as workfare. Since the 1960's Federal welfare laws have allowed States to place recipients in workfare which requires recipients to work in exchange for their welfare benefits. The workfare program created under the 1988 Family Support Act specified public and private sector workfare recipients' hours and compensation, and included specific health and safety, nondiscrimination and other protections for workfare participants, but did not treat the workfare participants as employees. I would ask the chairman if that is his understanding, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Human Resources with jurisdiction over welfare reform.”